Ethnic Minorities in America Essay -- Ethnicity Hearing Impaired Paper

Ethnic Minorities in AmericaIn the joined States the term minority often infers membership within an ethnical or ethnical minority classifying. However, this term also encompasses other crowds that lack equality, such(prenominal) as women, homosexuals and volume with disabilities. By definition, the hearing majority classifies deaf people as minorities because of their inability to hear. Yet linguists and social scientists argue that the basis of Deaf peoples status as a minority group is not bingle of disability, but as a cultural and linguistic minority (Lane, Hoffmeister and Bahan 1996 335-6). In order to assert that Deaf people are a linguistic and cultural minority in America the characteristics of a minority group must first be defined.According to Schaeffer, members of a minority group share the following five characteristics Members of a minority group familiarity unequal treatment and have less power over their lives than members of a dominant group. Members of a mino rity group share physical and cultural characteristics that distinguish them such as skin color or language. each(prenominal) society has its own arbitrary standard for determining which characteristics are well-nigh important in defining dominant and minority groups. Membership in a dominant or majority group is often forced Minority group members have a strong sense of group solidarity. Members of a minority group generally marry others from the same group. (Schaffer, 1998 6) Furthermore, ethnic minorities have other characteristics that set them apart from the majority such as language, national origin and cultural differences. (Schaffer, 1998 7) Audism is defined as an attitude base on pathological thinking which results in a negative blemish toward anyon... ...ick. The World According to Pat Reflections of Residential School Days ASLRTC flick Proceedings, TJ Publishers, Silver Spring, MD.Humphrey, Jan and Alcorn, Bob (1995). So You Want To Be An Interpreter An initiatio n to Sign Language Interpreting (2nd Edition) H&H Publishers, Amarillo, TX.Lane, Harlan Hoffmeister, Rob and Bahan, Ben (1996). A Journey Into the Deaf-World Dawn Sign Press, San Diego, CA.Padden, Carol and Humphries, Tom (1988). Deaf In America Voices From a Culture Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.Schaeffer, Richard T. (1998). Racial and Ethnic Groups (7th Edition) Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc., newfound York, NY.Shelly, Suan and Schneck, Jim (1998). The Complete Idiots Guide to Learning Sign Language Alpha Books, overbold York, NY.Wilcox, Sherman (ed) (1989). American Deaf Culture Linstok Press, Burtonsville, MD.